I seek to provide the escape we all long for as adults, but rarely achieve due to the everyday mundane tasks we face. This ephemeral moment of bliss is often ruined by anxiety, pollution, and the distractions of pop culture, and consumer objects. My professional interest is to provide a visual escape from the pressures of the adult realm. I do this by highlighting the everyday clutter we encounter by placing it in the environments we use to escape stress. This becomes the stage for the drama between the search for serenity and the anxiety of modern living. 

My artwork is a direct response to my lived experience and the challenges I have faced. Having experienced many losses in my family, I have seen the need to escape. I know I am not alone in this feeling. Yet I continue to move forward. My process is influenced by my personal escapes. I gather references and research from the outdoors; I want to experience the environments I create and then communicate that experience. When I travel, I pay attention to my surroundings, not just the good, but also the bad. I probably have as many images of garbage in nature as I do sunsets. 

In addition to the visual elements of my work, I enjoy working on paper because of its resilience and ability to record damage through its creases. It is also less archival which provides an ephemeral aspect to the work. I enjoy working with texture in my paintings because it adds an element of sculpture to a work. Texture also allows me to provide a tactile way of presenting an environment.

Work Statement

Hot Water is an oil painting that I made after hiking in the Ohlone wilderness. I remember distinctly seeing the garbage that had accumulated at the edge of the swirling water. Water is inherently dangerous, my time as a lifeguard and kayaker have taught me this. I wanted to remind the viewer of the roughness of water. Even though we want to relax and enjoy a drink while sitting riverside, we need to remember our place.  If you do not respect it, it will remind you of your place in the world. Take care of it, be safe around it, and don't get caught in hot water. 

Is It Midnight Yet? is a relief cut that I designed to tell the story of an adventure gone wrong. The reference to Midnight is a discussion of the Doomsday clock. The symbolic clock whose time is moved closer to and further away from midnight indicates the current likelihood of a man-made catastrophe destroying the world. At the time of writing this, the doomsday clock is set to 90 seconds to midnight. Not knowing if or when midnight will come provides a layer of anxiety over the world. This generates a universal desire to escape, yet a reminder that we can’t escape every problem.